Universe Lock
by ElfIcarii
Summary: I bet the idea of someone being dumped in Middle earth has probably been used hundreds of times, but I hope that this will be a new twist...A girl is dragged into Middle earth by some evil conspirators, who want to get rid of the royal family in Mirkwood,
1. Prologue

A/N: I hope you guys like this, it's my first attempt at a fanfic online...I know it's short, but it's just the prologue so far. I'll try to add Chap 1 as soon as possible. I'm going to make the disclaimer really simple: I don't own anything recognizably Tolkien's, but everything else is mine. Not that there's much of Tolkien's yet. Please Review!!!  
Prologue  
A man hidden in shadows chuckled evilly. He was staring at a ball that was black as the spaces between the stars, held in his hand. On closer inspection, a bystander might have noticed that he was an elf, or at least once had been...the tips of his ears had been almost completely cut off.   
  
"So who shall it be?" once-elf said. A voice from nowhere replied, "I do not care, so long as she is female, and knows nothing of Middle earth. I want plenty of confusion when she comes here."  
  
"How would anyone in that world know of Middle earth?" The man in the shadows asked. "I will pick one randomly." He made a gesture with his right hand, and with his left he hurled the ball to the ground. It shattered like any glass sphere, just as the voice shrieked.  
  
"NOOOO!!! You fool, you may have just destroyed everything. Someone in that world came here, decades ago, and documented some of our history as a fictional book. Many people there know of Middle earth, and if you chose one that did...Well, you are always replacable." The man gulped. "Yes, master."  
  
"You will do everything possible to destroy her before she reaches the prince of Mirkwood. If you are too late..."  
  
"Yes, master?"  
  
"Kill them both."  
A/N: Again, Please review! 


	2. Chapter 1: Attack on the Sidewalk

A/N: Here's the first chapter! I tried to make up all the names, so if these are anyone's names, I'm sorry. I know it's short, but that's were it felt like the right spot. I'm already writing the next chapter. Please review!!!  
Chapter 1  
Kathara grumbled to herself as she walked home from school, kicking at the pieces of gravel that had migrated onto the sidewalk. The note from her teacher in her pocket was doom.   
  
Earlier that day, Kathara's science teacher had stopped her and given her the note, promising to email her mom if she did not give the note to her. Kathara's grade had dropped to a D+ in the months since Christmas - Definitely not a good thing when you're a Senior hoping to get into a good college. She had tried to keep her grades up, she really had, but with her cat dying, her best friend moving to Arizona, and her parents getting a divorce, it wasn't easy. If she tried to escape into her books, or space out, her grades dropped even farther. It seemed like there was no hope.  
  
It wasn't as if she was bothered by the other kids - with her auburn hair, greenish-blue eyes, and friendly personality, she was actually pretty popular. But that wasn't what she wanted. Kathara wanted to get into a good college and become a scientist, or an author, or SOMETHING respectable and enjoyable.   
  
Kathara looked at the book in her hand - her copy of The Fellowship of the Ring, which she had gotten for Christmas four years ago, in a complete set. She was rereading the trilogy for the seventh time, but even that was no good. If she couldn't get her grades up by June...and she almost certainly couldn't...then she was doomed to an uneducated, boring, normal, useless life. And that was one thing she wouldn't be able to stand. She kicked at a piece of gravel extra hard and watched it go flying and hit a tree. Her mom had always said that trouble came in threes, and she hoped it was true, so that this would be the end of it. Maybe it would be followed by a phenomenal good luck streak, and she would get her grades up after all!  
  
Cheered by this thought, she walked a little taller and faster, a half-smile beginning to form on her lips. So what if Liana had moved to Arizona? They would have been seperated when they went to college, anyway. Who knows, maybe they'd meet again someday!  
  
Abruptly, Kathara stepped in a puddle. She hadn't seen it coming, and it shouldn't have been there anyway - it was to dry for rain, and too cold today for watering plants. She shrugged and kept going. Then she noticed that she had cut her foot on something, right through the shoe. She searched through the puddle, and found a small piece of glass, black as night. She wondered where it came from, as she had never seen anything like that glass before - glass just didn't come in that kind of black. She started to shake her head and stand up.  
  
All of a sudden, something tore her backpack off, and she fell over backwards. Giving a short cry, Kathara looked up...into the face of the ugliest creature she had ever seen. She threw her fist in its face and rolled over to attempt to get up. Then she felt an agonizing pain in her back - no, five points of pain. She screamed and tried to get away or kick it in the knee or ANYTHING. But the monster had grabbed her head and was literally carrying her by her head and her back - Kathara had now realized it was the thing's claaws in her back - towards the puddle. The beast thrust her head towards the puddle. Kathara closed her eyes and tensed in anticapation of impact with the concrete sidewalk, still struggling as her head was slammed down...  
  
...into nothing.   
A/N: Again, please review! And thanks to anyone who's reading my story. 


	3. Chapter 2: Discovery

A/N: Thank you to the one person who has sent the review! I really appreciate it! Here's the second chapter, I'm going to try to get the next one up tomorrow but I might have too much homework. I know that the last one was kinda short, and I tried to make this one longer. Read, review, and enjoy!  
Chapter 2: Discovery   
No impact. No shattered skull. Just the continued pain in her back. Kathara opened her eyes, not that it did any good. All she could see was blackness. She looked "down",   
and saw the rest of her body being shoved through by clawed hands she could not feel. She tried to get back up to the "puddle", but to her horror it closed up before she could get out, leaving her in total weightless darkness.  
  
Or was the darkness so complete? Kathara could see a pinpoint of light in the distance, like a beacon of hope. She started to try to swim towards it through the air, when she realized she was already floating towards it...or it might have been coming towards her, she couldn't really tell without reference points.   
  
Why waste energy she might need later? Kathara let herself drift, and tried to check just how bad those wounds in her back were. As if on cue, the forgotten pain returned, but as a dull, persistant throb instead of the sharp, tearing pain there had been before. Kathara reached over her shoulder to feel the wounds...or tried to. A hiss of pain escaped her tightly clenched teeth as the skin and muscle of her back stretched with the movement. Kathara decided to try a less painful way. She twisted her arm behind her back - elbow down this time - and touched her shirt. It was sticky with drying blood, but nothing new seemed to be leaking out. Well, that was a good sign. At least she wouldn't die of blood loss.   
  
Kathara had no way to check how deep the wounds were, with them so hard to reach, but they didn't feel as large as they had seemed at first. So it shouldn't be too bad...After all, in the Middle Ages warriors had dealt with worse wounds and survived. She would be fine.   
  
Kathara had no clue how much time had passed since she had been through the puddle, or whatever it had been. She realized that she still had that piece of glass she had found in her hand. She took a look at it. No use. It was practically invisible in this lack of light. She turned toward the light source, and realized almost too late that it was now a huge ball racing towards her! She had only enough time to stick the piece of glass in her pocket and close her eyes, bracing for the impact.   
  
THUMP!!! Kathara hit the object. Only, it felt more like grass-covered ground than a huge ball. She opened her eyes. It WAS grass that she was lying on top of. Even more unusual, it only felt like she had fallen about three feet, not who-knows-how-wide distances. She sat up and checked for broken bones, sprained ankles, and anything else major. Only a few bruises. Even the holes in her back were gone!  
  
Abruptly, Kathara realized she wasn't wearing the jeans-and-t-shirt outfit that she had been wearing earlier. She was wearing an ankle-length, dark green dress of a fairly plain style, and had no shoes. Where was the piece of glass, then? Obviously this dress didn't have any pockets. She panicked. All of a sudden it seemed imperative that she know where that bit of glass was. She felt in the grass all around her, and soon found it. As she picked the glass up, pieces of it fell away, crumbling into a fine powder. When it ended, what was left in her hand was a small, tear-shaped stone that seemed to absorb the light around it. Kathara shivered and stopped looking at it. She had to keep it, that much was obvious, and she had no where to put it just yet, so it would have to stay in her hand.  
  
Kathara looked around the meadow for the first time. She was stunned by the tall, silvery trees and the golden, bell shaped flowers. She was reminded of the times when she was younger, and she and Liana would play games in the woods behind her house, herself pretending to be an elf named Kenturiel, and her best friend pretending to be Arwen. But why did these woods remind her of those times? The trees back home had looked nothing like this! They had mostly been pines and douglas firs.  
  
Kathara rubbed her head in confusion, and realized that her hair was in a braid instead of a pony tail, and she had pointed ears! She felt her ears again to make sure. Yes, they were indeed pointed. Things seemed to fall into place. Pointed ears, green dress, no shoes. This meant that she was now an elf. Gruesome humanoid monsters throwing her thrusting her into this place. That indicated orcs. And the silver trees - Mallorns, if her guess was right - and the golden bell-shaped flowers indicated Lothlorien. This all seemed to mean she was in Middle earth.  
  
At this point in time, Kathara was too shocked to doubt her conclusions, although she was sure she would later. Right now, the first order of business was to find some civilization, because even Tolkien's elves couldn't live without food. She took note of the sun's position, and headed in a direction that could have been either north or south, depending on the time of day. It felt like it was afternoon, so it should be north, she reasoned. Which was the most likely direction towards help, if she remembered the books correctly.  
Approximately an hour later, Kathara was starting to tire. In an ordinary girl's life in a small town, basically back home, there wasn't much in the way of distance walking. She was starting to appreciate just how difficult Frodo's journey must have been. She stopped for a minute, and that's when she heard the noise of someone or something crashing through the forest. Kathara hid behind the wide bole of one of the nearby trees, and peeked around it to watch.  
  
It was a group of orcs. How many, she didn't know, because they were obviously tracking her, and she took off running before all of them had come into sight. Kathara ran as hard as she could, randomly dodging trees and leaping over fallen logs. Suddenly, she heard galloping hooves in front of her. She dodged to the side - And smacked her head hard against a tree limb in the way.   
  
Holding her ringing head, Kathara managed to stumble on a few more feet before she fell into the swirling darkness of unconciousness, the dark stone of glass still clutched tightly in her fist.  
A/N: Again, please review! 


	4. Chapter 3: And Loss

A/N: Thanks to all who sent in reviews! Here's the next chap. Legolas has entered the story (finally!) and, well...you'll see for yourself. I'm open to ideas and suggestions, so if you have any send them in with the reviews. Thanks!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 3: And Loss  
  
  
  
  
When Kathara awoke, she didn't know how much time had passed. She didn't even remember her own name, although she did not realize that until later. She regained consciousness with her eyes closed, and kept them that way and listened. She could hear birds singing, wind blowing, and voices coming nearer.  
  
"We found her running into a tree branch and knocking herself out," a voice said. The voice sounded male, young, and worried. It had almost a musical quality to it, which was also shared by the next voice she heard, also male.  
  
"Why would she knock herself out?" the second voice said. "Is she mad, or was she under some sort of spell, or what? It certainly doesn't sound like rational behavior to me."  
  
"No, just panicked," Voice #1 replied. "We found out why soon after - about twenty orcs were after the girl. I can't blame her for hitting that branch. She probably ran into it changing directions suddenly after hearing our horses."  
  
"I still don't think it's normal. And did you see her hair? Even after we got the blood out of it, it had a reddish tinge. It's not right."  
  
"It may well be normal, for her. There are a few recorded cases of hair that color. Auburn, I believe the humans call it."  
  
"You mean like Palinye the Kind, who was tortured to death by orcs? If that's what's in store for her, maybe we should save her the horrors and kill her now."  
  
"You are sounding like a human now, Tienthe! Besides, who would have the heart? She's so young!"  
  
The voices were very close now. Kathara had not been awake enough before to really pay attention to (or understand) what they had been saying, but now she felt a bit restless, and opened her eyes in preperation to sitting up. She heard the first voice say "She's awake!" and then a worried face came into view. It was a young man, or elf, rather, who had longish blonde hair with braids leading behind his ears. Kathara began to sit up, but the elf gently pressed her back.  
  
"You're not recovered enough yet. Relax." the elf said.  
  
"Who are you?" Kathara asked, as she lay back down. "For that matter, where am I? And what happened?"  
  
"I'm Legolas Greenleaf of Mirkwood, and you are in the woods of Lothlorien. If I and the rest of my patrol hadn't found you two days ago, you'd be dead by now, killed by the orcs that pursued you."  
  
Kathara was shocked. "Two days?!!! I was unconcious for TWO DAYS?!?!?!" she cried.   
  
"Calm down! You must rest!" the second voice identified himself as a darker haired elf, a little older than Legolas. "Now that you're awake, we can go to the city in the center of Lothlorien, and you can get proper care."  
  
"But I'm perfectly all right!" Kathara protested. Other than a monster headache, she thought. Then Legolas asked a question that was to scare her out of her wits.  
  
"May we know your name, maiden? Then we could send word to any relatives of yours that you are safe..." Legolas trailed off as he saw the terror on Kathara's face.  
  
"I don't remember..." Kathara trailed off and searched her memory. Finally a single memory surfaced. She and another girl, both much younger, running through a forest, and the other girl calling to her "Come on, Kenturiel!". So that was her name.  
  
"Kenturiel. My name's Kenturiel," she whispered.  
  
  
  
Legolas had been worried when he had seen the panic his simple question had caused in the maiden. Could the knock on her head caused her to lose her memory? But it seemed not, for she had replied quickly after all. Kenturiel. It was a beautiful name.  
  
"Do you have any relatives, and if so, where? We would like to reassure them. I don't know whether they were worried or not, but they undoubtedly deserve to know you're safe. We'll be heading to the Inner Forest in a couple hours, and we could send off a messenger when we got there."  
  
Kenturiel seemed confused again. "I don't think so...No, I don't. I'm fairly sure of it."  
  
Legolas was puzzled by her answer. How could she be unsure about such a thing as that? Had the blow caused her problems after all? He shot a look at Tienthe, his darker haired companion, and found the same confusion staring back at him. He took a deep breath. Whatever had happened to the girl, it would not be good for her ease of mind if he seemed unsure of himself. So he cleared the confusion from his face, and prepared himself for a day of the same confusion.  
  
"Very well. We'll leave in a couple hours. You should rest until then." Legolas left to find the other three members of the patrol. They had to get to Galadriel. She, at least, would know what to do.  
  
  
  
Kathara watched as Legolas turned and walked away. Did he really think it was that simple? That he could tell her to rest and she would be able to? She sighed. He was probably right, anyway. It WOULD be a good idea for her to conserve her strength. But it was so difficult! Why could she remember so little about herself? She could remember ordinary things, things that had nothing to do with experience. For instance, she knew the trees around her were mallorns, and that she and the other two were elves, and she would be able to recognize an orc if she saw one, but she couldn't remember the important things, like who her friends and family had been. She got the feeling she really didn't have a family at the moment, though.  
  
"I'd better go get the horses ready. You will rest, won't you? Legolas would never forgive me if I left and you climbed a tree or tried to run around or something else like that." It was the elf with the dark brown hair talking. Kathara mentally shook herself back to reality.  
  
"I'll try. What's your name? I'm sorry, but I don't think I caught it." The elf smiled. "I'm sorry. My fault; I never introduced myself. I'm Tienthe."  
  
"Thank you, Tienthe. Yes, I will try to sleep. And I promise I won't try to climb any trees." Tienthe laughed and left. Kathara grimaced. It would be very difficult to get to sleep. Her mind seemed to be on hyperdrive. But despite her predictions, Kathara soon fell into a troubled sleep, filled, unfortunately, with nightmares of the black void in her memory.  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Please review! 


	5. Chapter 4: Two Tears

A/N: Sorry I took so long!!! I've been really busy with school work, and then I went to visit my cousin...Any way, here it is! I couldn't find the name of the elven city in the middle of Lothlorien, so I had to make one up. I anyone knows the real one, please tell me and I'll change it!  
Chapter 4: Two Tears  
When Kathara awoke, she was swaying, heard clopping hooves, and didn't know where she was. A second later, she remembered where she was and realized she was in a sort of swing hung between two horses. On one horse sat Legolas, and on the other sat Tienthe. Elves she didn't know were there too, one riding ahead and one behind.  
  
Kathara jerked into a sitting position and nearly fell out of the sling. As she grabbed for the edge (nearly swinging completely upside down) Legolas and Tienthe slowed their horses to a stop, dismounted, and ran over to help.  
  
"I'm sorry, I hadn't realized you were awake...Are you ok?" Legolas said. Kathara nodded.   
  
"You should lie down! You could get worse! And then..." Tienthe trailed off under Kathara's glare.  
  
"I'm quite well enough now, thank you. And if you don't have a spare horse, which it looks like you don't, I'll walk. I'm sure I could use the exercise better than I could use even MORE sleep!" Kathara wrapped up her speech by intensifying her glare. Legolas chuckled.  
  
"I warned you!" he told Tienthe. Tienthe stopped cringing and glared at Legolas.   
  
"How was I supposed to know? She was so sweet and polite earlier!"   
  
Legolas laughed again. "As far as I'm concerned, she's still sweet and polite. I would have hit you over the head just to prove I wasn't made of crystal."  
  
Kathara glared at the two elves and sniffed as they continued their conversation. She hated it when people talked over her head! She slipped off of the sling-thing and walked around a little bit, carefully staying within sight of the horses. Something about Legolas...Well, actually, his name...tugged at her memory. What was it? Not that they were related, she was sure she hadn't even known him until recently...something to do with a book...This was absurd. A book? What could Legolas have to do with a book? If she hadn't known him, she couldn't have borrowed one from him, and he was to young to be mentioned in one, rare as they were, so...  
  
"Kenturiel! Come on, let's go! If we leave now we can still reach Lothlorien by nightfall."  
  
Kathara turned towards Legolas's voice, with an angry sigh of annoyance. Her first chance to explore and stopped already...She wasn't a child, to be told what to do all the time! But, at the same time, she knew that Legolas was right. The sun was far past noon.   
As she turned to jog back to the horses, Kathara noticed an odd bit of stone on the ground. It was just like the odd, black crystal tear she had had with her when she awoke the first time, except that it was a translucent bluish-white. She stooped to pick it up, and heard Tienthe yell, "Hurry up, Kenturiel! We need to go NOW!" followed by the sound of Legolas talking to him in an annoyed mutter. She quickly scooped it up and tucked it into a small pouch she had found at her waist, along with the other one. Then she went back to the horses, where Legolas, Tienthe, and the two other elves where waiting.  
  
***  
  
An hour or so later, Kathara was riding behind Legolas on his horse, and wondering about the two crystals. As far back as she could remember (in other words, since she had woken up that first time), the black one had felt important, somehow. And then she had found that other one, in the woods...Where had they come from? Why were they important? And, most of all, what WERE they? It was fairly obvious they were more than just crystal. There was more to them, a feeling, well...a feeling of magic. There was no other way to describe it.  
  
There was no way that Kathara could find the answers to her questions now, so she shoved them to the back of her mind. Right now, there were more immediate things to worry about. When they were going to eat, and how far from where they were going they were, for instance.   
  
"Legolas, when are we stopping to eat? I'm sorry, I know we're in a hurry for some reason, but I'm starting to get hungry."  
  
Legolas laughed. "Don't be sorry. I'm getting hungry too, but we don't have any food with us. We'll have to wait until we get to Valorien."  
  
Kathara sighed. "Ok. But aren't those blueberries over there ripe? They sure look it."   
  
Legolas stared. Kathara was pointing at a blueberry bush a few feet away and to their right, and he could have sworn it hadn't been there before. And they DID look ripe. "I suppose there's no harm in checking. Lentos! Theriban!" The two previously anonymous elves reigned in their horses and looked back.   
  
"Legolas?" the one on the right asked.  
  
"We're going to stop for a minute. Kenturiel found some berries." All five elves dismounted and ran at the bush. Seconds later, they were hungrily eating the berries.  
  
A few minutes later, they were all either lying on the ground or sitting against trees, falling asleep. Tienthe mumbled something about it not being the season for blueberries, but it quickly degenerated into snores. One of the other elves...was it Lentos or Theriban? Kathara wondered...yawned and fell asleep as well, quickly followed by the other. As though they were under some spell, Legolas thought, and he began to grow alarmed, but an immense lethargy seized him, quelling the warning, and he too fell asleep.  
  
After seeing the alarm appear and fade on Legolas's face, Kathara became frightened. For a reason she did not know, she took out and held tightly the two crystal tears she had found. The lethargy became lassitude, and she alone of the five remained awake. And she was the only one to see the hooded figure coming out of the shadows...  
A/N: Please read & review! And once again I'm sorry I took so long. 


	6. Chapter 5: The Dark Elf

A/N: There are few things I couldn't figure out how to work into the story, so I'm going to tell them to you here: Hearic is the "once-elf" from the prologue(if you don't remember him, you can go back and check it, I got that fixed so it no longer is Ch. 2 in that slot), and "the Master" is the Voice from the prologue, in case you can't guess it. It's not very obvious. The whole story takes place about a century after LOTR, and I took a few liberties in changing some of the events, they'll be explained as they come up. I'm sorry I've taken so long getting this up, now that basketball season is over and parade season still a month away(I'm in band) I should have enough time to get the chapters up more frequently. An additional Disclaimer: The flashback format I'm using in this chapter(and probably others) is not mine, It's geminigrrl's. I did ask permission before I used it. And again, nothing of Tolkien's is mine, but the rest is.   
Chapter 5: The Dark Elf  
  
Hearic surveyed his catch with pleasure. Not only had he caught the girl, but the Prince of Mirkwood as well! The Master would be pleased.  
  
Hearic shuddered at the memory that thought had brought to the surface of his mind. The Master certainly hadn't been pleased with his last report. He was lucky he wasn't dead, after his orcs had failed so miserably.  
FLASHBACK  
"WHAT! How could you fail in so simple a task? Surely it can't be that difficult to capture a disoriented and confused girl!"  
  
Hearic was shaking where he knelt. He had never seen the Master, but his voice was more than enough.   
  
"It won't happen again, Master."  
  
The Master's voice grew deadly soft as he replied.  
  
"You're right. It won't."  
  
END FLASHBACK  
Hearic shuddered. If he hadn't succeeded in this attempt...He shook himself. That was over and past now. He'd be back on the Master's good side after his unanticipated success in this mission.  
  
He began to put the sleeping bodies into bags to be loaded on the cart.  
***  
Kathara could only watch with a dull horror as the hooded figure put her sleeping companions into bags. The horrible lassitude still filled her, and she was unable to move despite the situation. 'I might as well be asleep like the others', she thought.  
  
When it came to her turn, Kathara still couldn't move. She could still observe, however, as her mind was quite active, so when the figure bent over her she made sure to take a good look, His face - for it was a "he" - was pitted and scarred almost beyond recognition, but it was still recognizably elven. His eyes were a cruel, icy blue, and his lips were curled in an unconscious snarl. Even though she couldn't see his hair, Kathara was confident she'd be able to recognize him if she saw him again.  
  
That was, if they managed to get out of this fix alive in the first place.  
  
The elf turned to pull the bag over Kathara's head. Noticing that she was still awake, he raised his fist over her head. He slammed it down, and Kathara knew no more.  
A/N: Ok, ok, I know it's kind of a cliche ending, but it fits. I'm already started on the next chapter, and if I get the chance to write this weekend I'll have it up by sunday night. It should be a lot longer than this one, there's a lot that needs to happen...Please read & review! 


	7. Chapter 6: Capture

A/N: I know it's been a long time since I've added to this story, but what with the computer dying and everything else, I've had a hard time doing so. I hope you enjoy it.  
  
Chapter 6: Captured  
  
Legolas awoke, confused and disoriented. He was lying on something rather lumpy, was getting jostled around, and there was what looked like a potato sack in front of his face!In an automatic reaction, Legolas tried to sit up, and realized that he was wrapped in the brown canvas, which quite effectively prevented him from moving easily. He choked back a yell. Whatever the reason he was entrapped like this, he would rather attempt to figure out his situation before announcing to his captor that he was awake.  
  
Slowly, Legolas stretched as far as he could, and felt the sides of his wrapping. it seemed he was in a bag. Suddenly, he realized the lumpiness below him must be his friends. Were they all right? They didn't seem to be moving. Were they dead?  
  
Gradually Legolas relaxed. If he wasn't dead, and was in fact completely unharmed, his friends were liable to be in the same condition. But how had they been captured? The berries? When he thought back, he remembered how they had all fallen asleep so suddenly, after eating those blueberries, and how his alarm at that realization had faded so quickly into a desire to sleep. He remembered how Tienthe had mentioned that it wasn't the season for blueberries, and realized that they must have been a sorcerous trick. The berries must have been a sleep spell in disguise, or the area coated in one, and like fools they had all succumbed.  
  
The jostling stopped. They must have been in a moving cart, Legolas realized, but that didn't matter anyway. Without his knives, he would have been unable to get loose even if they had been unguarded in some meadow.  
  
***  
  
Hearic chuckled with glee. Not only had he caught the girl and the prince, but he had three other hostages as well! The Master would be pleased.  
  
Hearis turned and waited. Soon the boat would arrive, and he could continue on his way to meet the Master, leaving no trace for those foul elves to track. He'd be home free. Hearic grinned. In his happy anticipation of the reward to come, he was acting quite unlike his normal self.   
  
The boat arrived, rowed by a single grumbling orc. "Hush up now!" Hearic snapped. "We have a very important package for delivery."  
  
***  
  
Legolas felt the first real pangs of panic as he heard those words. Who was "delivering" them? And to whom? He knew he had to get them out of there, and fast. But how? The others evidently were either still under the spell or biding their time as he had been. Legolas stealthily checked everywhere in the bag. Yes, they had taken his two more obvious knives, but the shorter one in his boot remained. Evidently their captor hadn't searched him as thoroughly as they might have. Slowly and quietly, Legolas began to withdraw the knife from his boot. Just as he finished straightening out though, he felt a big thump, and his bag (with him inside) began sliding backwards. Legolas very carefully remained still and limp. It must appear that he was still unconscious.  
  
He felt himself lifted and moved...somewhere. When he was set down on a hard curved surface, and felt the rhythmic swaying, Legolas realized he must be in a boat. He heard footsteps approaching and suppressed a grunt as one of his companions was dropped on top of him. Listening carefully, and not hearing anything other than the footsteps heading away, Legolas withheld a sigh of relief. Evidently his captors had not heard him, or if they had, they had not thought it unusual. Careful not to move too suddenly, Legolas began to cut a hole in the fabric. He hoped the hole would not be noticed until too late.  
  
The hole grew larger, bit by bit, as Legolas's companions were transferred to the boat atop him. By the time the boat left shore, he had an opening large enough to wiggle through, and was working on the bag next to his. When he got it open, he found himself looking into Kenturiel's wide, staring eyes.  
  
***  
  
Kathara awoke to the feel of a knife pricking her nose. Jerking back and opening her eyes, she saw that the knife was sawing at the material of her bag.   
  
The hole was opened, when it was done, by none other than Legolas. Surprised, and, truth to tell, rather dumbfounded, Kathara stared at him blankly. Legolas put a finger to his lips and began working the opening wider.Kathara shook herself mentally and moved to help him.  
  
"Where'd you get that knife? I thought they took both of yours away!" Kathara whispered.  
  
"They must have been careless. They didn't get the one in my boot."  
  
"Where are the others?"  
  
"They must be in the other sacks around us. The question is how to get out of this mess. We can't just spring up and run, we're on a boat."  
  
Kathara nearly groaned, but stopped herself in time. She didn't know if she knew how to swim. That memory, along with most of her others, was lost at the moment. "Then what are we going to do?"  
  
Legolas sighed. "I was hoping you'd have an idea. Well, let's free the others - Then we'll work out a plan."  
  
Kathara nodded. "Do you have any other knives? I'll help."  
  
Legolas shook his head. "Nope. But if you can wriggle out, maybe you could untie the tops?"  
  
Kathara nodded and carefully got out of the bag. Thereafter they worked in silence, keeping low and hoping to avoid notice. They could now see that there were only two people on the boat keeping them captive - one orc, and the elf Kathara recognised as the one who had caught them in the first place. Seperately, they each came to the same conclusion. There was no need for a plan, if the others were awake. They could simply storm their arguing captors and use the boat to get to Lothlorien.  
  
A few minutes later, the freed captives were ready to take the boat. Legolas had only his knife, and the others were unarmed, but they remained confident they could overwhelm their captors.   
  
They were right. Unfortunately, they also overwhelmed themselves. For, as they charged forward, the boat flipped over sideways...dumping EVERYONE into the water.   
  
A/N: ok, I know it's a cliffhanger, but I do love doing those...they're FUN!!! Besides, they should leave you thinking...and I like to promote thinking. ANYways, please review! 


	8. Chapter 7: Rescue and Death

A/N: One thing I should warn all you wonderful readers: As you know, Kenturiel and Kathara are the same person. Kathara is her real name. However, since the others don't know this, when I am writing the story from their point of view her name will appear as Kenturiel, while when it is from her point of view it will be Kathara. I hope that makes sense and forestalls any future confusion.  
  
After this, I am going to be writing (and updating!) even more sporadicly than usual. I have a very busy school schedule this semester and simply won't have the time. I'll update when I can, and, as always, suggestions are welcome! Feel free to email me with those or any questions you might have(this is bad, I sound like a teacher! Sorry).  
  
I'm sorry this chapter was so late in coming it's been a busy summer. I hope it will satisfy you until I can put up another...Sorry!!!  
  
Thank you to Saiya-jin Patricia, Misao Shinomori, AerinBrown, Angel of Hope*Vala en'estel, geminigrrl6277, Tinkerclaire, and especially Elven Mischief and Chaos Lightning 13 for all the reviews! Yes, I will definitely keep this going, even if it does take a while for new chaps. ^-^  
  
Disclaimer: I know I've been skipping these the past few chapters, but I thought you only had to do it once. Anyway, I personally own nothing of Tolkien's, Although one of my friends says she owns Legolas....  
  
Chapter 7: Rescue and Death  
  
Kathara tried not to gulp frothing water as she frantically thrashed. She had been midlunge when the boat flipped, and she had actually landed on the hull. Not that it did any good. With the breath knocked out of her, she had fallen off the slippery hull before she could move and plunged into the icy water. Now she couldn't tell which way was up.  
  
"MMM!!! Mmm BLLLMM BLULM-MM!" Kathara struggled to calm herself, but was too panicked to really make sense of the world around her. By pure chance, she popped up out of the water, catching a breath of air before she went under again. She was knocked further down by another thrashing body. Her lungs ached for air. Once again, Kathara couldn't find the way up. As she began to lose her senses, her body took over and she opened her mouth to suck in a deep breath of air... only it wasn't air that rushed into her mouth, choking her and filling her lungs. Kathara tried to scream, but couldn't. She thrashed a few moments longer before falling still to drift in the underwater current.  
  
***  
  
Theriban broke the surface gasping. Treading water, he looked around wildly, trying to see if anyone else had made it. He could see noone.  
  
Suddenly There was a bright flash of light, and he felt something brush his foot. Ducking under, he caught a glimpse of Kenturiel's limp form drifting underneath his feet. Theriban dived and dragged her quickly to the surface. He put his hand in front of her mouth. She wasn't breathing! He tucked her under one arm and swam desperately for shore.  
  
A few minutes later, Theriban had Kenturiel on her front at the lake shore and was pushing on her back to get the water out of her lungs. Ten minutes later, she still hadn't reacted. Tears ran down Theriban's face. No! She had to live, they had only just saved her from the orcs, and she was far too young to die! Then Kenturiel coughed, and water began to run out of her mouth. She gasped in some air and was soon breathing normally. Theriban gave a sigh of relief and wiped the tears from his cheeks. Now he had to see whether any of the others had survived.  
  
Fifteen minutes later, he still saw no sign that any of the others had made it to shore. Of course, they might have reached the other side of the lake...but Theriban didn't want to get out of sight of Kenturiel, since she might wake up and wander off, and it would be wise for them to stick together. He turned around and started back to where Kenturiel lay on the lakeshore.   
  
A flash of movement from the direction of the lake caught Theriban's attention. He turned and saw another limp body floating by on the water's surface. He ran into the water and within seconds had the elvin form on the sand. After all this time, there was almost no chance they were still alive, but at least he could give them a decent burial.  
  
Theriban looked at the still figure. His heart stopped. The elf was most definitely dead. It was his best friend from childhood on, with whom he had shared secrets, pranks, laughter and sorrow.  
  
Lentos.  
  
A/N: I know I killed off a character before I developed him, But I realized lentos sounded like a type of vegeteble (lentils) and decided to use his death as a way to develop Theriban. Sorry if I disappointed anyone...if you have any complaints about it, send them POLITELY as reviews or emails. 


	9. Chapter 8: Memories

A/N: It's been awhile, I know, and once again I'm sorry. I've been having serious writer's block problems for a while now. I know how the plots going to go, it's the details that I get writers block with...Anyway, I hope this is long enough to satisfy people...  
  
Thanks again for the reviews!  
  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own LOTR. I own my plot, characters not from the book (such as Kenturiel, Tienthe, Lentos, and Theriban), and that's about it. I'm not getting any money from this, so noone can sue me. I'm doing it for fun. Anything wrong with that?  
  
Chapter 8: Memories  
  
FLASH!!!  
  
Theriban and Lentos, playing on the bank of a river as elflings. Theriban falls over and laughs as Lentos helps him back up to...  
  
FLASH!!!  
  
Theriban and Lentos, struggling to keep straight faces as they are presented to the King's court...  
  
FLASH!!!  
  
Lentos saying, "We'll be friends forever, won't we? PRANKS FOR ETERNITY!!!" as they head to a ball with their respective partners...  
  
FLASH!!!  
  
Theriban fell to his knees, tears rolling down his cheeks. Why did Lentos have to die? He had always been such a jokester, pulling pranks on or with Theriban at most of the King's parties and balls. Lentos had cheered him when he was rejected by the maidens he asked to the ball, and had always had a smile on his face...which was now still and cold, with its first ever frown.  
  
Sobs choked Theriban as he was engulfed in memories...  
  
FLASHBACK  
  
"It'll be all right, Theriban! There're other girls!" Lentos said, awkwardly patting his heartbroken friend's shoulder. "I'm sure you'll find someone else."  
  
"None like her, though." Theriban sighed. "Aaahhh, Sariel, where did I go wrong? What did I do to make you hate me so?"  
  
"Look, I'm sorry to say this, Sariel's pretty, but she's an airheaded bitch. She had no call to say you where a rolled up piece of orc's dung created to pester innocent maidens. You're not. That's that. Why don't we play a prank on her for playback?"  
  
Theriban smiled feebly. "You're determined to cheer me up, aren't you?"  
  
Lentos considered. "You could say that. Now, say we replaced her special rose scented perfume with essence of nettle leaves..."  
  
Theriban couldn't help his snort of laughter. "No, we shouldn't...really...I deserved it, I probably really embarrassed her..."  
  
"No, she 's just a toad faced turd."  
  
"She is not! She's the most beautiful maiden in Mirkwood!"  
  
Lentos snorted. "You need to go see Lord Elrond. Your head must have gotten hit pretty hard somewhere."  
  
Theriban gave in and laughed. "I give up. All right, I'll look for another bird among the leaves."  
  
"That's more like the Theriban I know!"  
  
END FLASHBACK  
  
At this memory, Theriban gave in completely to his grief, collapsing the rest of the way onto the ground.  
  
***  
  
Kathara felt like she was floating in nothingness. Darkness encompassed her, and she was content, didn't want to leave...but the red light above her wouldn't let her go. As she was pulled back to consciousness, aches and pains gathered in her body, settling in her chest and joints, not to mention her head. She realized the red light was sunshine beating on her eyelids, and woke.  
  
Sitting up with a jerk, Kathara looked around wildly, expecting to find herself underwater. She sank back with relief when she saw that instead of being dead or still drowning, she was actually a good ways up the lakeshore. But how had she gotten there? Lakes didn't have tides, not even ones as big as this. The surrounding plant life showed no sign of a recent storm big enough to wash her up this far on the beach. And it had been sunny when the boat flipped anyway. So someone had hauled her up here.  
  
The others! Kathara sat back up again. Had the others made it? Evidently at least one of them had survived long enough to save her, but that didn't mean the rest were safe. She stood up to look around, and caught sight of a hunched over figure, barely in view around the lake. As she headed towards him, sobs reached her elven ears. Now she could see the body of another, lying prone on the ground, gentle waves from the lake running over his feet. Kathara broke into a run. Who was it? Who had died? The tears had already started when she reached the weeping elf.  
  
***  
  
Theriban nearly leapt out of his skin when he felt the hand on his shoulder, but when he whirled around he saw it was only Kenturiel.   
  
"Are you ok, Theriban?" she asked, carefully not looking at Lentos's still form.   
  
"As well as can be expected," he managed to choke out. He struggled to straighten his face. It wouldn't do to be seen crying in front of a lady, despite his grief.  
  
Kenuriel finally looked at Lentos. "I'm sorry. I know it's not enough, but I am. He was your best friend, wasn't he?"  
  
Theriban nodded stiffly. He wished she had remained unconscious a little longer. He needed to be alone. Kenturiel seemed to hesitate for a moment, then, to Theriban's great surprise, she knelt down and gave him a hug.   
  
"It's ok to cry. Just because you're male doesn't mean you don't have feelings." Her words let loose a flow of tears that Theriban couldn't have stopped if he tried. He shook in her arms, and realized that being alone wouldn't help. Now, when he most needed it, she was giving him that which he had lost...a friend. While she couldn't take Lentos's place, she could help him bear the loss.  
  
"Theriban, what happenned to the others? Where are they?"  
  
"Huh? What?" Theriban was startled, and at first he didn't realize who she was talking about.  
  
"Legolas and Tienthe. The other two. Did they make it?"  
  
Horror filled Theriban's chest. He hadn't thought about the others since he'd found Lentos.   
  
"I don't know..."  
  
A/N: Ok, I know I emphasized the grief etc a lot, but in real life they wouldn't just say, oh, he's dead, and move on, would they? Is this what they call angst? I have been trying to figure out what that term meant for a while now...don't worry, the whole story's not going to be about Lentos's death. Please review!!!! 


	10. Chapter 9: Seperated

A/N: Sorry I took so long to update, everyone! I've been rather busy the last…couple years now, right? Arg. I need to get back into writing. Anyway, now I'm in college, have completed my first year thereof, and am ready to settle down and start updating the fanfics again. So what do you say, shall we find out what happened to Legolas and Tienthe? Not to mention that scarred elf, Hearic. As always, please read and review!

A note to those who read Ignoramus Enlightened: It may still be awhile before I update that story, since I do not currently have access to any but the last of the HP books for reference.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or world created by Tolkien. Any variances in this story from the actual literature were made to further the story and character development, not to drive fans nuts. Be aware, there will be such. Please don't flame me over them, and thank you for your patience.

Chapter 9: Separated

Tienthe frantically grabbed at the boat as it flipped over, but missed as he was thrown several feet away. He inhaled some water as he went under, but Tienthe was an agile swimmer, and soon came the surface spluttering. Hurriedly, he looked about, trying to spot his friends, but none of them were in sight.

Diving, Tienthe tried to look for them underwater, but it was too murky – he didn't see any of them. Again and again he dove, but eventually he had to face the facts. Either the other three had made it or not, and drowning himself wouldn't help them right now. The dark-haired elf turned and swam for the shore.

Legolas wasn't as lucky as the others – as the boat flipped, he wasn't thrown clear. His foot got caught up in the ropes from the sacks they'd been in, and found himself trapped under the small boat. It took precious seconds to disentangle himself from the ropes, but he managed, and got to the surface before he drowned.

Looking around quickly, Legolas was unable to see any of his friends. The bulk of the boat obstructed his vision, and they could easily have been on the other side, but he hadn't swum in a long time, and was quickly tiring. After a moment's hesitation, Legolas came to the conclusion that he had to let Tienthe and Theriban find the others, or he might not reach the distant shore himself. Tienthe and Theriban were two of the best swimmers in Mirkwood, and Lentos wasn't far behind. They should be alright, and they'd have no trouble rescuing Kenturiel if she was unable to swim herself.

Hating himself for it, but knowing he'd be no help to them later if he drowned now, Legolas began swimming for shore.

Hearic cursed as the boat flipped, and immediately kicked to get free before he was trapped under it. As the dark elf broke the surface of the lake, he was disgusted to find that the orc had failed to do so. Why was everything going wrong? Shouldn't kidnapping a helpless girl be easier than this?

Hearic gripped the edge of the boat to keep himself above water while he thought. Maybe that was exactly the problem. Instead of just taking the girl, he had been over ambitious and tied to take the whole group, four of them warriors, with only a single orc for backup. That had been stupid. And unless he managed to recover from this mishap and catch the girl anyway, he would pay dearly for his foolishness, perhaps with his life.

Shuddering, he looked around hurriedly. There was no sign of any of the captives, but that meant nothing. The amount of time he had spent thinking his situation over was certainly long enough for them to get out of sight. There was only one thing to do. He would have to get to shore and find the girl. Hopefully, this time she'd be alone.

Hearic started to swim.

---

A/N: There's a new cliffhanger for ya! I hope you guys liked this chapter, and weren't too bothered by how my writing style has changed in the last couple years. Please review!


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